Truck mixer



" April 6, 1943.

`G.A.\vlsER y2,316,137

TRUCK MIXER n Filed Sept. 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Shed l fx i GermL AnoonVisser.

Q INVENTOR.

Patented pr. 6, 1943 2,316,137 TRUCK MIXERl Gerrit Antoon Visser,Columbus, hio,assignor n to The Jaeger Machine Company, Columbus,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 22, 1941', Serial No.411,806 1 claims. (o1. 259-161) My invention relates to a truck mixer.It has to do, more particularly, with a combination loading anddischarge door for a truck mixer.

At the present time, a type of truck mixer is in use which embodies arotatable mixing drum having an opening in its rear end, the openingbeing used both for loading the drum and for discharging the materialsfrom the drum. In the prior art, a combination loading and dischargedoor unit has been associated with this opening. This unit consists of amaterial-receiving hopper having a disk-like member on its lower endcooperating with a seat around the opening in the drum. In loading thedrum, the material is dumped into the upper end of the hopper and passes'downwardly therethrough, through an opening in said disk-like memberand into the drum. However, in discharging materials from the drum, itis necessary to swing the hopper and the attached disk-like memberupwardly away from the opening. This unit is comparatively heavy and,vtherefore, it is diiiicult to swing it away from the discharge opening.Furthermore, when it is swung away from the opening and material isdischarged from the drum, material will cling to the seat around theopening and then when the disk-like member is swung back into positionon the seat, a proper seal will not be obtained. It is 'important tohave a very tight seal at this point to prevent leakage from the drumand this is diiiicult to obtain with the prior art structure referredto, particularly since the drum rotates relative to said disk-likemember. Another disadvantage of this prior art structure is that it isdifficult to lock the disk-like member in association with its seataround the discharge opening. Furthermore, the entire unit is supportedon the truck mixer frame in such a manner that the disk-like memberoften is out of alignment with its seat due to distortion of the frameor distortion of the unit itself which may occur when it has been swunginto its upper position.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a combination loadingand discharge door for a truck mixer which is of a very simpleconstruction and is very efficient.

Another object of my invention is to provide a combination loading anddischarge door for a truck mixer which embodies a material-receivingupperl unit that will always be in a iixed position in association withthe discharge opening of the mixing drum.

Another object of my invention is to provide a combination loading anddischarge door for a truck mixer wherein the material-receiving hopperthereof Acarries a sealing member which is always associated with a seataround the discharge opening of the rotatable mixing drum so that therewill be no danger of material lodging on the seat and, consequently, sothat an effective seal will be provided.

Another object of my invention is to provide a combination loading vanddischarge door unit which is so supported on the truck mixer that itwill always be in proper alignment with the discharge opening of themixing drum.

In its preferred form my invention contemplates the provision of acombination loading and discharge door unit which is associated with thedischarge opening in the rear end of a rotatable mixing drum. The doorunit consists of a material-receiving hopper which carries an annularseat on its lower end adapted to cooperate with an annular seat aroundthe discharge opening to produce an effective seal. The hopper unit issupported on the mixer in such a manner that the seat carried by it isalways resiliently pressed against the seat around the dischargeopening. The hopper unit is always maintained in this fixed position.The rear wall of the hopper is provided with a sliding gate which isadapted to be opened when it is desired to discharge material from themixing drum.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings wherein similar characters of reference designatecorresponding parts and wherein:

Figure l is a perspective View, illustrating a door unit made accordingto my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, partly broken away, showing my unit inposition on a truck mixer.

Figure 3 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in verticalsection, of my unit.

Figure 3a is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the sealingseat structure of my unit.

Figure 4 is a rear view of my unit. Figure 5 is a detail in verticalsection of means for pulling the hopper unit away from the drum topermit access opening.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along line 66 of Figure 4 through the edge of the gate structure and cooperatingguide.

With reference to the drawings, I have illustrated my invention appliedto a truck mixer I having a rotatable mixing drum 2. This truck mixer isof the high-dump type, the mixing drum 2 being tilted upwardly towardsits rear end to to the seat around the discharge hopper.

provide a high discharge point. However, my invention is not limited toa truck mixer of the high discharge type. The drum 2 is provided with acircular opening 3 in its rear end. This opening is adapted to serveboth as a charging opening and as a discharging opening. The drum 2 isprovided with suitably disposed mixing blades 4 of the screw type whichterminate adjacent the opening 3. When the drum 2 is rotated in onedirection, the blades 4 will serve to dra-w in material and feed itforwardly into the drum. When the drum is rotated in an oppositedirection, the blades 4 will serve to force the material outwardly fromthe drum through the opening 3. The opening 3, as shown in Figure 3, isprovided with a ring 5 which is suitably secured in position around theopening. f

I provide a hopper 1 associated with the opening 3. This hopper 1isadapted to receive material and feed it through the opening 3. Thehopper extends from a point above the opening 3 to a point below theopening. The rear and side walls of the hopper are inclined downwardlyand inwardly. The front wall of the hopper is at the same inclination asthe rear end of the drum 2. The front wall of the hopper is providedwith an opening corresponding to the opening 3 and around this openingthe hopper carries an annular ring 8. This ring 8 has suitably fastenedthereto a seat member 9 of annular form which has a machined surfacethat bears against a machined surface of a seatmember I0, carried on thering `5 carried by the drum. The member I is provided with an annulargroove Il which receives a sealing ring I3 of square cross-section.

The sealing ring I3 may be made of felt, synthetic rubber, cork or anyother similar suitable material. It is of such thickness that thesurfaces of members 9 and I0 will not contact too firmly even when thesealing ring is compressed in a manner to be described. Thus, thesealing ring serves to produce an effective seal between members 9 andIII. Furthermore, this seal will permit relative rotation of theseparts. Spaced circumferentially disposed lubricating fittings I4 arecarried by member 9 for forcing grease into the space between themembers 9 and I0, and thereby reduce friction between these members.

For supporting the hopper 1 in proper position relative to the opening3, I provide a yoke member IE. 'I'his yoke member straddles the lowerportion of the hopper 1. It extends rearwardly and upwardly. Its forwardends' may be welded or otherwise secured to the ring 8 carried by theMidway between its ends, member I is provided with an opening in which abearing sleeve I6 is disposed. This sleeve I6 extends downwardly andforwardly through an opening in the rear wall of hopper 1. It may bewelded in position. This bearing sleeve I6 is adapted to receive a rodI1 which extends therethrough. The members I6 and I1 are free to moverelative yto each other. The rod I1 extends downwardly and forwardlythrough the hopper 1 and has its rear end rigidly connected, as at I8,to the water pipe I9 which is disposed centrally within the drum 2.Thus, the rod I1 extends through the opening 3 into the interior of thedrum and is centrally disposed within the opening. At its outer end therod I1 has a nut 20 threaded thereon. This nut carries a thrust bearing20a of a ball bearing type. Sleeve I6 has its outer end welded to memberl5 and member Iii is provided with an opening 2| in alignment with thesleeve and through which. rod I1 slides. On its outer surface member I6is provided with a cup 2Ia around opening 2l. Between the bearing 20aand the member I5 a compression spring 22 is disposed. The inner end ofthis spring 22 is disposed within cup 2 Ia. It will be understood thatwhen the drum 2 rotates, the rod I1 will also rotate. The spring 22 willforce the sleeve I6 downwardly on rod I1. Since sleeve I6 is securedrigidly to member I5 and hopper 1, theentire hopper unit will be forcedtowards the end of the drum. This will cause the sealing ring I3.between members 9 and I0 to be compressed and produce the proper seal.Furthermore, relative rotation of members 9 and ID will be permitted.

Thus, it will be apparent that the hopper unit is supported by thecentrally disposed water pipe I9 in such a manner that a firm butresilient seal will be produced lbetween members 9 and I0. The rod 'I1will -be free to rotate relative to sleeve I6 and twisting of the spring22 will be precluded by the thrust bearing 20a. The member 9 carried bythe hopper unit will always be in proper alignment with the member I0carried by the mixing drum.

The lower end of the sleeve I6 has a flanged collar 23 threaded thereonwhich carries a packing ring 24. AThe upper end of 'the rod I1 isenclosed by a suitable housing formed by means of a cylindrical member25 having an open inner end threaded on `cup 2Ia. The closed outer endof housing 26 is so positioned that it will not contact with the end ofrod I1.

It will be apparent that spring 22 will keep members 9 and I0 in properassociation and will take up for wear of ring I3. Also, it will beapparent that by adjusting the nut 20 on the threaded end of rod I1, theforce exerted by spring 22 may -be varied. This will adjust theresilient pressure tending to force members 9 and I0 toward each other.A cotterpin 20h may be provided in the end of rod I1 to prevent nut 20from being threaded oif the rod. In order to separate members 9 and l0to permit replacement of sealing ring I3, I provide a jack screw 26threaded through a nut unit 26a secured tothe closed outer end ofhousing 25. By threading this screw inwardly until its inner endcontacts with the outer end of rod I1, my entire unit may be pulledoutwardly on rod I1 so that members 9 and I0 will be spaced apart.'I'hen ring I3 may be renewed. The outward pull exerted by screw 26 willmerely further compress spring 22. When the screw 26 is threadedoutwardly spring 2 2 will return the unit to its original position.

The upper portion of ring 8, carried by hopper 1, carries a segment of aring 21. This member '21 is in the form of an angl/ iron having one ofits anges extending over the member I0 and ring 5 carried by the mixingdrum. If rod I1 'starts to sag for some reason, the flange of member 21will contact with member I0 and ring 5 and prevent movement of members 9and I0 out of cooperative relationship. A lubricating fitting 28 may beprovided for forcing grease beneath the flange of member 21.

For permitting discharge from the hopper 1, I provide a gate 34. Thisgate is disposed on the rear wall of the hopper 1 and adjacent the lowerend thereof in association with a discharge opening 35 formed therein.The gate 34 comprises a plate 36 which is of metal like the hopper 1 andwhich is curved transversely the same as the lhopper 1. This plate 36has its edges disposed in vertical guides 31. The structure of theguides 31 is illustrated best in Figure 6. Each of the 'guides 31comprises an outer strip 38 of metal which overlaps the plate 86. Thisstrip 38 is scwill not adhere to this surface as easily as to the metalsurfaces,`vertical sliding movement of the plate 88 will be facilitated.

For moving the plate 38 vertically, I provide a pair of links 42, eachof which has its lowerend pivotally connected, as at 43, to the plate36. The upper end of each link 42 is pivotally connected to the innerend of a crank arm 44,:which has its outer end keyed on a transverselyextending shaft 45. The shaft 45 is rotatably carried by a pair ofbearing brackets 46 disposed adjacent the crank arms 44 and formed as apart of yoke il. The shaft 48 has one end 'extending into a gear housing41 carried by member I5. This gear housing has a stub shaft 48 extendingtherefrom which is supported by bracket 49 carried by member i5. A handwheel SII is keyed on the outer end of shaft 48 by means of which it maybe rotated. When the hand wheel 50i is rotated, it will be apparent thatthe plate 38 will be moved vertically relative to opening 88.

Secured to the rear' wall of the hopper 1 in association with opening 85and gate 34, I provide a discharge spout 84. This spout 84 extendsdownwardly and rearwardly. Material discharged through opening 85 will`pass into this The top of the hopper 1 is enclosed by means of a lid55. This lid may have its rear edge hinged to the truck mixer I. 'I'hislid will prevent rain from entering the hopper 1.

In the use of my combination loading and discharge door unit, the unitis mounted on the mixer in the manner indicated in the drawings and willalways be held'thereon in a fixed position relative to the opening 8 inthe end of the mixer. To charge material into the drum 2, it is merelynecessary to allow the material to flow into the hopper 1 which will'direct it inwardly into the drum 2. The drum 2 will be rotating in theproper direction so that the blades 4 will tend to pull the materialinto the drum. 1t will be understood that at this time the gate 34 willbe closed. When it is desired to discharge ma-V terial from the drum,the direction of rotation of the drum is reversed and thev blades 4 willforce the material out through opening 8 into the hopper 1. The gate 34will be opened, allowing the material to pass downwardly through theopen- 8 ing IB into the spout I4.

It will be apparent `from the above description that I have provided acombination loading and discharge door structure which is of very simpleconstruction and is very efllcient. The materialreceiving unit is alwaysin a fixed position relative to the discharge opening of the mixingdrum. Thus, the cooperating sealing surfaces carried by the rotatingdrum and said unit will always be in proper association and there willbe no danger of material lodging on such surfaces. Consequently, aneffective seal will always be provided. Furthermore, the loading anddischarge door unit is so supported on the truck mixer that the sealingsurfaces referred to above will always be in proper alignment.

Various other advantages will be apparent from the precedingdescription, the drawings and the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination with a. rotatable mixing drum having an opening at theend thereof and being provided with screw blades for selectively drawingmaterial into the drum through said opening or `for forcing materialfrom the drum through said opening, a centrally disposed supportprovided in said mixing drum, a material receiving hoppper supported incooperative relationship with said opening, means for connecting thehopper to the drum so that the hopper will always be in position to feedmaterial linto the drum through said opening, said means permittingrotation of the drum relative to the hopper, said means including a rodhaving its forward end connected to said support and also includingsealing rings carried by the hopper and the drum adjacent said opening.said hopper being carried on said rod by a sleeve free to` slide on saidrod, a compression spring surrounding said 1 rod and having one endbearing against the sleeve to force it forwardly on the rod to maintainsaid sealing rings in resilient contact, and an adjustable stop on saidrod with which the other end of the spring contacts, said hopper beingprovided with a discharge opening in one wall thereof, and a gate forcontrolling said opening.

2. In combination with a rotatable mixing drum having an opening at theend thereof and being provided with screw blades for selectively drawingmaterial .into the drum through said openingy or for forcing materialfrom the drum through said opening, a centrally disposed supportprovided in said mixing drum, a material receiving hopper supported incooperative relationship with said opening, means for connecting thehopper to the drum so that the hopper will always be in position to feedmaterial into `the drum through said opening, said means permittingrotation of the drum relative to the hopper, said means including a rodhaving its forward end connected to said support and also includingsealing rings carried by the hopper and the drum adjacent said opening,said hopper being carried on said rod by a sleeve free to slide on saidrod,

a compression spring surrounding said rod and having one end bearingagainst the sleeve to force it forwardly on the rod to maintain saidsealing rings in resilient contact, an adjustable stop on said rod withwhich the other end of the spring contacts, one of said rings having aremovable compressible sealing member carried thereby, means for pullingthe hopper outwardly to permit replacement of said sealing member, saidmeans comprising a support carried by the hopper adjacent the outer endof said rod but 'mounted independently thereof, a screw carried by saidsupport for engaging the outer end of said hopper, said hopper beingprovided with a discharge opening in one wall thereof, and agate forcontrolling said opening.

3. A structure according to claim i wherein a 4compressible sealingmember is associated with the cooperating sealing rings.

4. A structure according to claim 1 wherein one of said sealing ringshas a groove which re ceives a replaceable compressible sealing member.

5. A structure according to claim 1 including a member carried by theupper portion of the sealing ring carried by the hopper and overlappingthe sealing ring carried by the drum for preventing downwarddisplacement of the hopper-carried sealing ring relative to thedrurn-car ried sealing ring.

6. In combination with a mixer having a frame carrying a rotatablemixing drum having an opening at the end thereof and being provided withscrew blades for drawing materials into the drum through said openingduring rotation of the drum in one direction and ior forcing materialsfrom the drum through said opening during.r rotation of the drum in theopposite direction, a centrally disposed support carried by said mixingdrum and projecting outwardly through said opening, a material-receivinghopper supported by said centrally disposed support independently ofsaid frame in cooperative relationship with said opening for feedingmaterial thereinto, said drum and said hopper being provided withcooperating sealing surfaces, resilient means associated with saidsupport for bodily pressing said hopper for wardly on said support tomaintain said sealing surfaces in cooperative relationship duringcharging and discharging rotation of the drum, said hopper beingprovided with a discharge opening in one wall thereof, and a gate forcontrolling said opening.

7. A structure according to claim 6 wherein said resilient means forpressing said hopper forwardly on said supportl is adjustable to varythe sealing contact between said sealing surfaces.

GERRIT ANTOON VISSER.

